Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 66 Underground Cemetery
Underground cemeteries are considered a specialty of the church.

In essence, it's quite simple: they dig a basement underground and place the person inside. Of course, the cemetery beneath the church is very prestigious; not just anyone can be placed there. Those who can reside in the underground cemetery beneath the church are either wealthy, powerful, or famous.

As for ordinary people... they just dig a hole and put a tombstone next to the cemetery, and that's it.

This is why churches are usually built in peripheral areas, partly to facilitate the expansion of cemeteries.

However, since the steam industrial revolution, the speed of urban expansion has far exceeded the church's planning. For example, the haunted house case that Li Wei and his team worked on was originally located in the countryside, but now it's been zoned for the Seventh Ring Road. It's clear that buildings like churches have long been completely surrounded by the urban jungle.

Let alone expansion, not shrinking at all would be a blessing from the Holy Lord.

Therefore, the church had to find another way, digging underground burial sites, which were naturally divided into "rich areas" and "poor areas." The closer to the church, the richer the area. And the farther away from the church, the poorer the area.

In the wealthy area, the burial plots are like one-bedroom apartments, with at least a private burial chamber and a bed. As for the poor... they can only sleep together in a large communal room.

This shows that reality remains the same whether one is alive or dead.

Alexander was somewhat wealthy, so the church arranged a place for him on the ground. If there were no places available, then they would have to arrange for him to be buried underground.

However, it's not without its downsides. Recently, Li Wei has been reading newspaper articles discussing the potential dangers of churches building underground cemeteries.

On the one hand, doctors have stated that the church's practice of piling up corpses poses a risk of disease outbreaks. On the other hand, churches aren't professional diggers. One wrong move and the surrounding area collapses. Similar incidents have occurred before, where half a street collapsed. The public is deeply resentful; their hard-earned homes have inexplicably collapsed – who can bear that?

However, people are not immortal; ultimately, the number of deaths will only increase, not decrease. Therefore, cremation is currently a focus of parliamentary debate, since cremation reduces the size of the body, making it easier to place.

But whether the public can accept it... that's another question.

However, this has nothing to do with Li Wei. For him, the only lucky thing is that no one has been buried in the underground tomb in recent years, so the air quality inside is still acceptable.

The underground tomb was also locked, but not securely. Li Wei had his own little lock-picking tricks—he reached out, manipulated the black cat puppet, used a shadow teleportation to slip into the doorway, then leaped up, pawed, and the door opened.

Yes, that can be considered a lock-picking technique.

Don't ask how it was opened, just look whether it was open or not.

"Ugh... the smell is awful."

As they entered the catacombs, Katie covered her nose and uttered a small complaint.

"Just bear with it."

Levi carried the gas lamp and walked in first, while Katie followed him inside.

In the dim light, the visible area was actually quite small. All around were dug-out graves, with corpses lying inside, much like the upper, middle, and lower berths of a train. Fortunately, the bodies here had been there for a long time and had long since decomposed, leaving only skeletons. Otherwise, encountering partially decomposed remains would have been even more gruesome.

Levi walked in front, with Katie following behind, but in reality, the black cat doll was leading the way. This catacombs were a maze of interconnected paths, full of turns and corners, and Levi certainly didn't want to be ambushed and killed like in a horror game. So he placed the black cat doll at the front, carefully observing each corner to ensure it was safe before proceeding with Katie.

"Where are we going, Detective?"

Katie stood beside Levi and spoke in a low voice.

"do not know."

"do not know?"

"I don't know, but there are footprints here."

Li Wei shone the gas lamp on the ground. The nuns and priests would clean the church, but the catacombs were left unattended. And they couldn't possibly manage it all. After all, the more people died, the deeper the graves were dug. Sweeping the ground outside the graves was already a feat. A thorough cleaning of the entire catacombs would probably take more than a month.

With dust billowing from the ground, the surface was already covered in grime, making the footprints clearly visible. Of course, the footprints weren't very clear, but Li Wei's [Reconnaissance] was no joke. After a careful and focused look, he immediately locked onto them.

"And it's not just one person, be careful."

Li Wei's "reconnaissance" report revealed that someone frequently entered and exited the underground tomb, not just once, but at least four people.

Of course, it's an underground tomb, so it's not entirely unreasonable to say four people would carry a coffin, although this tunnel is a bit narrow and not suitable for a coffin dance. But the footprints are clear, indicating they haven't been inside for long... Hmm... Considering that Li Wei's "unmanned reconnaissance drone" didn't detect any trace of them before, these guys might be located quite deep underground...

“Da…Da…Da…”

With a mascot cat leading the way, Li Wei's pace was naturally not slow. The two followed the footprints, turning and twisting, and soon, the surrounding space began to change again—from a hard sleeper to a soft sleeper, then to a compartment, and then... a large dormitory.

"Waaaaah..."

Katie stared in disbelief at the sight of the "mass dormitory," and even Levi was astonished. It must be said, when you have a corridor lined with massive dormitory beds, crammed full of skeletons, it certainly evokes a sense of... well, trypophobia.

This is far more impressive than the previous hard sleeper and soft sleeper compartments.

The tomb chambers were crammed full, filled with countless bones of all kinds. Under the dim gas lamps, they even possessed a kind of vibrant beauty. The skulls stared down the passage from all directions, as if they were still alive.

"Detective, is there a ghost here?" Katie looked at the dark eye sockets on the skull staring at her from the side, and shrank back in fright.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't be there..."

Li Wei comforted Katie, then activated [Soul Vision] and scanned the surroundings, and then...

"Ok?"

As soon as he activated his Soul Vision, Li Wei saw a red light appear deep within the tunnel below.

It was very faint, but you could see it at a glance.

Is there something there?
Li Wei immediately perked up, quickened his pace, and continued walking inside.

After turning three more corners, Li Wei finally reached the exit of a tomb. Seeing the light coming from the opposite side, Li Wei first turned off the gas lamp, then carefully maneuvered the black cat puppet closer, quickly surveying the area. After confirming that no one was around, Li Wei then crawled out of the hole.

This place looks like a newly dug cemetery; no one is living here yet. The pit next to it has been dug, and it's estimated that with a little basic renovation, it could be ready to welcome guests. The entire room is about the size of a classroom, making it a fairly large cemetery.

However, Li Wei was not concerned with the cemetery itself, but rather with the objects placed in the center of the tomb.

"What the hell is this?"

Li Wei stared at the center of the tomb, where there was a platform resembling an altar. Strange magic circles were drawn beside it, and candles were lit—well, probably because the other party felt they wouldn't be easily seen here, so they let themselves do whatever they wanted.

But none of that matters; what matters is what's on the altar.

That was an architectural model.

It looks like a miniature model of a bridge, quite exquisitely made, and encased in a glass case. It would make a great exhibit or decoration in a museum or at home.

But... why are you putting this thing on this altar?

Staring at the architectural model before him, Li Wei was completely bewildered. He could see the red dot of light in the center of the model through his [Soul Vision], but…

This is so unconventional!

In a normal sacrificial ceremony, it's understandable to put in a human head, internal organs, gemstones, or even just a person.

What do you mean by posting an architectural model? Who is this sacrificed for?
"Ah, I've seen this model before."

However, at that moment, Katie stared at the model and spoke.

"have you seen?"

"Ah."

Katie nodded.

"This is a model of the Empire Bridge."

"The Imperial Bridge...you mean the one that's under construction?"

Hearing Katie say that, Levi also remembered the Empire Bridge that was currently under construction in Chongqing, which had been reported in the news.

"Yes, when they first talked about building it, the architect showed this model to us. I thought it was pretty and even wanted to take it home to play with."

You know what, if Li Wei saw this in a toy store, he'd probably want to take it home and play with it too. This model is just so beautifully made.

"And then what? Where did this model go?"

"...I don't know about that. Should we take this model away now?"

"Um……………"

Hearing Katie's question, Levi hesitated. The two times he had seen the red dot before, neither of them were good. Following this logic, Levi felt that the best course of action was to simply shoot it out.

But judging from how solemnly this thing is placed here... could there be some other problem?

Moreover, taking this thing away would inevitably arouse the church's suspicion...

“Da…Da…Da…”

Just as Li Wei was pondering, suddenly, the black cat puppet that was originally responsible for scouting in the distance keenly caught the sound of footsteps, and at the same time, a dot of light appeared on Li Wei's minimap!
somebody is coming!

(End of this chapter)